American writer Steve Hillard recently settled a legal wrangle with the Tolkien estate, which had suggested his novel, Mirkwood: A Novel About JRR Tolkien, infringed its rights and asked for all copies to be pulped. The two sides eventually agreed that the book could be sold provided it displayed a disclaimer making its fictional nature abundantly clear.

Tolkien is a major character in Hillard's novel, which centres on a young woman's quest to find her grandfather after discovering documents given to him by the writer. "The adaptation of Mirkwood will follow the template of the novel," said Hillard, "but will delve considerably deeper into Tolkien's little-known back story, such as his original plans to become a codebreaker in World War II up through the writing of his enduring works."

Mirkwood – the name refers to a sinister forest containing murderous giant spiders that featured in The Hobbit – has sold around 900 copies via Amazon. The film version will be released by EMO Films. For those seeking a more authentic Tolkien experience, Peter Jackson's two-part take on The Hobbit will be released in December 2012 and 2013 respectively.

• This article was amended on 18 August 2011. The original stated the the Mirkwood spiders appear in The Lord of the Rings as well as The Hobbit. This has been corrected.